Organize Against School

276 Words2 Pages
John Taylor Gatto in his article “Against School” addresses his belief that schools are laboratories, turning young, fresh-minded students into stationary consumers who are all alike. The students are bored as well as the teachers, so “who, then, is to blame?” “We all are.” (300-301) It is our duty to push and challenge ourselves instead of waiting on someone else to make that happen. The government will continue to use the few students they believe are capable to continue on their tradition, while letting the majority fall into meaningless stereotypes and groups. We have the ability to change the prospect and goals of public education, and we can bring out the genius in every single student. 1. What is Gatto’s purpose in placing Inglis’ “six basic funtions” of school into his essay? I feel that Gatto is trying to overemphasize the reason for public education. Of course, in a sense, these functions have some validity to them, but Gatto makes it seem that students can’t decide for themselves if they will excel in their education. In actuality, it is the students’ choice to determine whether or not they will exceed in their schooling. 2. Why is it nearly impossible nowadays for a young person to become a millionaire, a president, an inventor, an industrialist, etc. without a complete education? In our present day society, having an education is a must-have if one wants to obtain a well-paying, beneficial job. Times were different hundreds of years ago, and an education wasn’t absolutely necessary. Gatto, to me, is misleading his audience to think that they do not an education in order to
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